Archive for December, 2012

“One of the things that happens in my house on the holidays is after dessert, we sit down to a very ambitious men-versus-women game of Trivial Pursuit. It’s brutal. And there’s a trophy.” – Bobby Flay Perhaps the competition in your family is as strenuous as in Bobby Flay’s; perhaps not. With the holidays and family time ahead of us, let’s discuss the merits of sharing Game play with our loved ones during this season, and how these times actually become in our memories perhaps the most cherished of the gifts we share. Games are the gateway to community. Allow me to re-introduce myself. I am Jonathan Albin, the Game Market Guru, transforming lives through organized play. I write under, […]

Having an ugly watch can lead to sadness, sadness leads to anger and anger leads to the Dark Side. Well now Seiko watches have created a range of awesome bracelet watches for all the Star Wars fanatics amongst us. The watches are limited edition and sadly will only be available in Japan, which may as well be Naboo for most of us, as it means we will never get our hands on any of the 6 character designed pieces. However, knowing that they exist somewhere in this galaxy is enough to make me a happy chappy. The six characters selected to be redesigned as a watch are Darth Vader, Yoda, R2D2, Darth Maul, a Stormtrooper and C3PO, probably not because […]

Today I’m going to take a look at one rather uncommon take on a dungeon, Citadel of Pain This pdf is 119 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of editorial, 1 page of ToC, 1 blank page prior to the content, 1 page of Kickstarter thanks to patrons, leaving 113 pages of content, quite a bunch! It should be noted that the new version of the pdf is separated into 2 files – adventure and map-sheets and thus uses up less space than before. (The high-res map-sheets should be printed out anyway!) The adventure kicks in with a neat splotch of blood and a famous line by Oscar Wilde prior to getting into the action. It should […]

I’m going to take a look at Adventureaweek.com‘s first module in their Classic-Play-Series, which is wholly devoted to old-school gaming, so let’s take a look, shall we? Alagoran’s Gem This module is 48 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC (& recommended reading for those not familiar with old-school style gaming) and 1 page SRD, leaving us with a total of 44 pages of content, so let’s take a look at the first of AdventureaWeek.com’s C-series of classic modules in the spirit of old-school gaming! This being an adventure review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players may wish to jump to the conclusion. All right, still here? Let’s take a look! Intended for levels 3-5, […]

Today I’m taking a look at the latest epic symphonic black metal CD…just kidding! It’s time for the review of Way of the Wicked IV – Of Dragons and Princesses This pdf is 106 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages maps of Talingarde, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving a total of 99 pages of content, so let’s check this out! This being an adventure-review, the following text contains a lot of SPOILERS. Potential players may wish to jump to the conclusion. Still here? All right! The last adventure had the PCs in a precarious situation – the sacking of the most holy places of Mitran religion […]

Way of the Wicked III – Tears of the Blessed The third installment of Fire Mountain Games‘ evil AP is 102 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving 97 pages of content, so let’s check it out! This being an adventure review, Asmodeus watches over these lines. If you’re a player and don’t want to be dragged to hell due to knowing about the massive SPOILERS, I’d suggest you skip ahead to the conclusion. Still here? All right! The adventure kicks off where “Call forth Darkness” left off – with the legendary Tears of Achlys now in the PC’s possession, Thorn’s plans grow closer to […]

My all time favorite fantasy artist Larry Elmore has a Kickstarter you’ll have to see to believe! Would you like to get your hands on a fantasy art book detailing all the incredible stuff Larry has done through the years? How about the amazing opportunity to meet Larry in person, tour his studio, and even go on a motorcycle ride? This is it folks, this is the big one, and it ends in less than 20 days. PLEDGE NOW!

A group of hard core STAR TREK fanatics are recreating the bridge from STAR TREK: The Next Generation. As you probably surmised, the name of this website (NERD TREK) was inspired by the hit TV show from the 90’s which I still watch religiously every single night before bed. I’m not even going to waste your time rambling on about how cool this Kickstarter is, just check out the link below. MAKE YOUR PLEDGE FOR THIS KICKSTARTER!

Hej everybody! Today, I’m taking a look at Fire Mountain Games much applauded freshman offering, the first module of their critically acclaimed evil AP, Way of the Wicked! Way of the Wicked I – Knot of Thorns This pdf is 100 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving 95 pages of content, so let’s check out Fire Mountain Games‘ AP! The nation of Talingarde is a shining beacon of goodness on a hill, a bastion of faith to the Mitran faith and an example of purity and goodness. Evil has been conquered and mostly rooted out in this land, the goblinoids driven […]

Hej everybody! Today, I’m not only taking a look at Fire Mountain Games‘ second installment of their evil AP, I’m also introducing you to one of the best modules I’ve read in quite a while! Way of the Wicked II – Call Forth Darkness The second installment of Fire Mountain Games‘ evil adventure path centered on serving Asmodeus is 106 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving 101 pages of content, so what exactly do we get? This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Asmodeus and the dukes of hell will be greatly displeased with potential servants glimpsing at their grand plans […]

You may be familiar with Ron Lundeen from my reviews of Headless Hydra Games’ two modules in Mor Aldenn, The Haunting of Soldragon Academy and Wreck of the Keening Crone. Recently, Ron Lundeen has also created his own imprint, Run Amok Games, and today I’ll take a look at his first two offerings: The Six Griffons Haunt This adventure is 32 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving 29 pages for this first adventure by Run Amok Games, the new company of Ron Lundeen, so let’s check it out! This being an adventure review, the following text contains massive SPOILERS, so potential players might want to jump to the conclusion. Still […]

Hej everybody! Today I’ll take a look at one of the finest investigations ever written for a d20-variant! Rituals of Choice II – To Kill or Not to Kill This adventure is 46 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving a total of 42 pages of content, so let’s check this out! This is my second review of one of Rite’s excellent Arcana Evolved adventures, which I’ll also review with specific consideration for the PFRPG-audience. Thus, this review contains SPOILERS. Potential players might wish to jump to the conclusion, while idea-starved GMs are very heartily encouraged to keep reading! All right, still here? Good! Claiming their […]

You might know that I’m a sucker for all things Scandinavian and that vikings have a special place in my heart from my involvement in Open Design’s Northlands. I’m happy to introduce you to 3 nice modules today that take place in the frozen North, Frog God Games’ Northlands Saga I – Vengeance of the Long Serpent This adventure is 24 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD and 3 pages of advertisements, leaving 17 pages of adventure, so let’s check it out, shall we? I’ve been quite involved in OD’s “Northlands” and have, I confess, an infatuation with sagas, Scandinavian culture and customs and have studied Scandinavian Literature […]

Hej everybody! Any of you still remember Monte Cook’s Arcana Evolved? Well, this adventure, while originally written for Arcana Evolved should be considered compulsory reading for DMs planning to do their very own AP. Why? Let’s take a look! Rituals of Choice I – A Witch’s Choice This pdf is 46 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving 42 pages of content, so let’s check this one out! I’ve been wanting to review this module and its sequel for quite some time now and I finally felt like it was not only an option, but something I had to do now. So what exactly is the “Rituals of […]

Today I’m going to take a look at the second half of the Splinters of Faith Saga, starting with Splinters of Faith VI – Morning of Tears This pdf is 32 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 3 pages of advertisements, 1 page SRD, leaving 25 pages of content, so let’s check it out! This being an adventure-review, the following text contains SPOILERS. Potential players might want to jump to the conclusion. Still here? All right! This installment of “Splinters of Faith” brings us to the Monastery of World Sundering, where a passive, Illmater-like god was once worshiped – before the monastery was swallowed by a now receding glacier, […]

Perhaps you plan to run the Skull and Shackles adventure path, perhaps you’re a fan of Freeport or similar settings – no matter, today, I’ll take a look at some of the finest supplements 3pps have to offer to enrich your swashbuckling experience! We’ll start the reign of piratey products with Zombie Sky Press’ Tattlebox #3 – A Pirate’s Life This installment of Tattlebox is 20 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 1/2 pages advertisement, 1/2 page SRD, leaving us with 16 1/3 pages of content, so let’s check this out! This episode of Zombie Sky Press’ Tattlebox-series is completely devoted to the topic of pirates, making it an ideal candidate for insertion into a given […]

Hej everybody! Today I’m going to take a look at Zombie Sky Press’ first two installments of Tattlebox, their magazine of miscellaneous crunch and content for PFRPG! Best of all: Issue #1 is FREE! Tattlebox #1 This free offering yb the fellows of Zombie Sky Press is 8 pages long, 2 pages of which are devoted to advertisements, ½ page SRD and 1/3 page credits, leaving 5 1/6 pages of free content, so let’s check them out! The first thing you’ll probably notice is the great Falling Leaves-comic by Ashton Sperry, which made me laugh. The Tattlebox as an item itself (rather as a major artifact) gets its full stats and makes for an interesting, albeit dangerous tool. […]

Hej everybody! Ever wanted a city depicting a magocracy? Want to have it for just 5 bucks? Well, there’s actually a nice old-world-style city sourcebook out there, namely Headless Hydra Games that fits the bill (and which also made my top-ten of 2011-list…) Mor Aldenn Setting Guide This pdf is 167 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving a whopping 164 pages of content for the setting, so let’s check out HHG’s City of Mages! As has been the tradition with Mor Aldenn books, this one also includes a short story that is supposed to draw us into the city’s flair – in contrast to all 3 […]

Paizo Publishing Kicks off Search for 2013’s RPG Superstar! Leading Roleplaying Game Publisher hosts annual open contest to find the best and the brightest amateur game designers Paizo Publishing proudly announced yesterday the launch of RPG Superstar! Now in its 6th season, RPG Superstar is Paizo’s annual contest to find the newest talent in game design, and an opportunity for budding game designers everywhere to have their work seen and critiqued by game industry leaders. The call for entries opened on December 4, 2012 at 2 PM Pacific time and runs through December 18, 2012. RPG Superstar consists of five RPG design challenges spanning several weeks, led by a team of celebrity judges, consisting of industry luminaries and Paizo game […]